Molalla Police are crediting employees of a local Internet and telephone provider for "pig-piling" on a man who attacked a company employee and holding him until officers arrived.

Police Chief Rod Lucich said employees at Molalla Communications successfully defused an assault, keeping it from exploding into a potential riot.

Lucich said the female employee was struck in the head, but received only minor injuries and was not hospitalized.

"There was an excellent response by some of the employees there," Lucich said. "After he assaulted an employee, they pig-piled him to the ground and kept him there until we got there. The employees acted both bravely and swiftly."

"When the woman said she couldn't help him, he came at her and gave her a big shove into a partition," Lucich said. "Then he took a swing at her. All of this was within seconds."

Employees then poured out of the back, overwhelming the man while others called police.

Police arrested Frederick Lyman Eder, 62, of Mulino. He was booked into the Clackamas County Jail and cited on three counts of fourth-degree assault, disorderly conduct and harassment before he was released. He is due to appear in Molalla Municipal Court on July 17.